


Shaggy

by SnapeLove



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:55:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26016871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnapeLove/pseuds/SnapeLove
Summary: After the war Severus discovered that he liked to jog early in the morning. He discovered that one can gain a lot by doing that. Even more if you get adopted by a dog.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Severus Snape
Comments: 26
Kudos: 191





	Shaggy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [oihermione](https://archiveofourown.org/users/oihermione/gifts).



> This story is based on a prompt given by [oihermione](https://archiveofourown.org/users/oihermione/pseuds/oihermione) on Hearts & Cauldrons. I hope that I managed to get it right :)
> 
> And I have to say one huge thank you <3 to my beta [JojotheRadPenguin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JojotheRadPenguin/pseuds/JojotheRadPenguin), without her help this story would be much less readable.

_ The search for the brightest witch of her age continues _

_ The famous part of the Golden trio, Hermione Granger, is still missing. After her brief and unsuccessful fall out with Ronald Weasly, the “heroine”, harolt, and seductress of the innocent disappeared. Had the war hero Ronald Weasly managed to see through her schemes and avoid her trap? This reporter is sure he did. Is she on the hunt for a new victim, or is she hiding until her shame is forgotten? Probably.  _

_ The shameless Muggleborn Hermione Granger, after failing to establish a more permanent relationship either with the famous Harry Potter or his best friend Ronald Weasley, had shown her true face. She abandoned her, as she claimed before, “best friends” and disappeared, leaving both of the war heroes worried.  _

_ Read more about this on pages 14 through 25, exclusively by Rita Skeeter  _

Severus frowned at the flashy title on the first page of the Daily Prophet. Two years after the war, he was finally out of news reporters’ focus. His recuperation, not to mention his survival, trial, the eventual awarding of the Order of Merlin First class, and all benefits that go with the award were a selling point of the gossiping daily news. 

Not one mentioning of him in the entire issue. 

Skeeter was still keeping the Granger disappearance story alive, the woman had some serious grudge toward the girl--that much was obvious. 

Hermione Granger was in the spotlight, along with the Boy-who-lived-to-annoy-him and his Helium-head-read-haired-sidekick. Thoughts of her pestered him during his recovery at St. Mungo’s and later while he was briefly imprisoned in Azkaban. 

Three days after he was decorated with the Order of Merlin, she just vanished without the trace. 

The girl was smart enough to see the folly of the “New Wizarding England” for what it is and probably used her experience of living in the Muggle world to start a new and better life. 

Severus downed his orange juice and stood up. He walked out of his new home and stretched before starting his new addiction: a morning run. He usually ran early in the morning, but still unfamiliar with the terrain, he opted to wait until the day was full and bright.

Exiting the space of his yard, though no fence was there, onto the dirt country road, he suddenly stopped his light jog. In the middle of the road was a dog with her shaggy fur all tangled, and still filled with burdock. He recognized a certain intelligence within the dog’s eyes that made him frown.

“So, you’ve found me once more.” He huffed, watching the ragtag dog. “Well, if you want to run, then come along.”

The dog first found him right after he moved back to Spinner’s End, he took up running along the slimy trash-filled river. And there she was, just running along him. 

Not attacking.

Not approaching him.

Just running  _ with _ him.

The dog would wait for him on the same spot each morning, and stayed on the same spot after he finished his jog. 

After his home was flocked with news reporters and fans, Severus decided to move. He fled Spinner's End and rented a cottage in Yorkshire. A month or two later the dog found him again--one day it just appeared on his running path.

He started bringing dog food to his morning run to feed the dog after their run.

The dog still didn’t approach him, but she did eat what he brought.

And then, again, some eight months later--news found out about his new home. So he had to move again. 

He rented a new place in Wales.

A month or so the dog found him. This time the dog approached him, sniffing him carefully. Once the dog allowed him to scratch its ears and belly- that’s how he learned it was a she. She was a brown-eyed, brown-furred, shaggy dog. 

He managed to take her picture this time and look at the local library.

It was a Barbet .

He found it odd that such a rare breed was running around on the loose, but he was the last person to report any living creature who managed to escape to freedom.

Well, the dog obviously liked to run with him, not demanding anything more so he was willing to feed her once a day and have her as his silent companion. 

The third time news reporters found him, Severus decided to change his tactics. He sold Spinner’s End, combined what he got with his award gold and with a help of Potter (oh, how he detested that) and Minister, bought this place--the forest, the moors and 2up2down more spacious and brighter version of his Spinner’s End home. 

He made the entire estate Unplottable. 

Good luck with finding him now, in Netherbrae, where he owned a good portion of land and the closest neighbours were kilometers away. He could purchase his necessities in one of the surrounding towns or villages that were close enough, but yet still far away. Any and all of his wizarding needs were supplied by Winky. 

His “neighbours” tolerated him well enough, giving him a vide breath, deeming that he was a retired priest (most unfortunate first visit to the local shop in his wizarding robes). He lived off on a pension he received monthly for his spying services. 

The wand in his underarm holster vibrated slightly. 

Severus stopped, jogging in the spot.

“Well, that’s 5 kilometers--I’m heading back.” he said, little breathless, looking at the shrubbery and green planes in front of him. 

“Woof” came a cheerful reply.

He turned and forced his brain to stop reminiscing, focusing on the breathing and the brown shaggy dog that jogged alongside him. 

The sun was up high, breaking through the clouds when he returned to his home. Grumbling, Severus went straight to the fridge and took a few sausages and a bowl of water. He brought them up to where he had met the dog this morning. She was nowhere to be seen, but he left the treats there anyway. 

Next morning Severus got up early, downed his orange juice with a glance at the Daily Prophet. They still prattled about the Granger girl, but nothing about him, thankfully.

Satisfied, he went for a run.

She was there, again, as he knew she would be.

His life had plunged into a routine. He ran in the morning in the company of the dog, he tended to his gardens, and experimented with the potions, which was something he had always wanted to do. 

As time went on, his thoughts became more and more filled with the dog, the only constant in his life for over two years now. Finally, he decided that she turned out to be reliable enough for him to give her home-- that was if she agreed to it. 

The dog seemed to have a mind of her own. 

With a decision made, he walked to the yard and, with a decisive gait, went to the invisible fence. The dog was nowhere to be seen, but he stood there, arms crossed. 

“How long are you gonna leave me waiting?” he finally grumbled.

Behind the tree line a shaggy head appeared.

“Well? If you want, you may follow me.” Severus frowned at his mischievous companion.

He turned and the dog followed. 

Once in the house he turned to the dog. She watched him, eyes bright and tongue lolling, her tail thump-thump-thumping on the hallway tills. 

“Now, we will have some ground rules.” He arched his brow at the dog. “First, you are going to have to suffer through de-fleeing, a bath, and cleaning all that burdock from your fur. You will tolerate all the potions I make for you. You will not bite me at any time.”

“Woof” the dog agreed.

“You are sleeping in the living room, my bedroom and my bed are strictly forbidden. You will  _ not _ bring dirt or dead animals into my home. You will  _ not _ go down to my potions laboratory.”

Her “Wof-wof” was less enthusiastic.

“And, no matter what,  _ you will  _ **_not_ ** _ have puppies _ . Do I make myself clear?”

“Wooooof.” The dog jumped and pushed his leg with a snout, eyes trained on him. 

“Now, how should I name you?” He asked while the dog snuggled to his hand, his fingers sinking into soft shaggy fur. “Shaggy...” Severus mussed.

The dog looked at him,  _ woofed _ at him and the wet nose pressed at his palm, followed by the slobbery lick.

_ Well, that’s settled. _

And so, his life with Shaggy began. 

He noticed that many of his rules were not respected. 

He still jogged every morning with Shaggy. He got her a collar with a tag and a leash (even if he never used it). He tended to spend more time in the living room reading, while she lay on the sofa next to him, her head in his lap.

Sometimes he thought that she read along with him. 

He caught himself talking to Shaggy, sometimes discussing potion theories, sometimes just idly chatting about this and that. 

Life didn’t seem so empty anymore.

Shaggy had an inborn hatred towards the Daily Prophet, whining at the pictures of Potter, Weasley and howling at the picture of the Granger girl, tearing the pages with glee. So, Severus stopped buying the paper altogether.

She followed him wherever he went, tail wagging, her tongue licking at his hand until he succumbed to allowing her to follow him to his laboratory, then in his bedroom. 

Severus admitted to himself that he couldn’t imagine his life without her anymore. 

In the afternoons they walked around the forest or the moor, just content in enjoying the outdoors together.

The first night he allowed Shaggy to sleep on the bed, after a lot of grumbling, the dreams started. Arousing, lascivious dreams about him and a certain bushy-haired Gryffindor. 

He woke up with a startled shout, his body sweaty like he had just awakened from a nightmare, until he realised that his hand was buried in the Shaggy’s fur. 

The dog licked his face and tried to snuggle him, bumped at his not-so-small-arousal and tore out of the room, whining and whimpering.

“At least I’m not the only one appalled by the prospect…” Severus grumbled. 

Next day they returned to their normal routine.

The dreams of the Granger girl and himself continued with disturbing persistence. And Severus found himself talking to Shaggy about it. Her warm eyes watching him with adoration, her wet nose pressing at his hand or neck. Shaggy would whine, nuzzling him, her smart eyes brilliant and shiny at the mention of Granger’s name.

Little by little, dream by dream he started telling Shaggy about Hermione Granger.

...

“She was the most brilliant and the most annoying child, you know,” Severus told Shaggy while he chopped vegetables for a stew. “At times I was saddened by the fact that I could not take her under my tutelage. What a loss for the wizarding world, everyone else was more than happy to have her reciting verbatim by bloody verbatim. She had potential for much more.”

“Aww-wof-whieww.” Shaggy replied.

“But, she was Gryffindor and Muggleborne- and I was Head of Slytherin House and a Death Eater spy. What could I do? If times were different I could help her to use that brain of hers in a more creative way. She could have made a name for herself.”

“Wof-woofff.” Shaggy wagged her tail.

“She had talent. Polyjuice potion in the second year, brewed in a meager lavatory at that! True potential--it was wasted.” Severus chuckled at the memory. “She did manage to turn herself into a cat, however.”

“Grrrrrrr.” Shaggy stood up, growling a harsh, low sound, her fur gaining volume.

“There are no cats here, you silly mut.” Severus shook his head, still chuckling at the memory of the Gryffindor girl that managed to grow ears, whiskers, and a tail as bushy as her hair. “Ow! Go, go on you maniac!” He hissed at Shaggy when she nipped him. 

…

“Pity she took Potter as her best friend, if not… But what’s the point, no use crying over spilled milk. I still think she could do much better than a Weasley.” Severus frowned, while on a customary walk through the moor with Shaggy. 

“Grrrrr wroff.” Shaggy seemed to agree with him so he bent to give her a rewarding ear scratch. 

“It is true, the only time I saw her all dolled up she was with Victor Krum. Not a bad catch for a book-worm. She did always have a knack for the more brawny than brainy type. Pity.” 

“Ak-huf.” Shaggy protested. She glared at him and tore against something only she could see.

…

“She is still missing. That’s almost a year and a half. More even.” Severus hissed while drinking his orange juice.

“Wof…” Shaggy tilted her head.

“Miss Granger, naturally. If I knew where she is I’d offer her my help, you know. I do not blame her at all for leaving the lot of them behind.”

“Wof! Wof! Wof!” Shaggy jumped around the kitchen happily. 

“All right, let’s go for the run.” Severus laughed at her, heading for the front door. 

That was the first time since he met Shaggy that she nearly tripped him, running around him rather than  _ with _ him. 

…

He was reading while Shaggy slept over his lap, his free hand twined in her curly fur. She huffed in her sleep.

“You do remind me a bit of Miss Granger. You have the same colour fur as her hair, similar consistency I imagine and penchant for a rat’s nest hairstyle too.” Severus nearly startled himself by speaking aloud, wasn’t he reading… “I suppose she would be in a similar company as you, quiet while reading, mischievous and stubbornly happy for no apparent reason. We could be even something akin to friends, perhaps in another life.” 

Severus sighed.  _ We could be even more than friends if she wasn’t my student before, _ whined his brain.

Shaggy was sleeping, but even in her sleep her tail rhythmically ticked back and forth like a metronome bear on the cushions.

_ Thump-thump-thump. _

It was near a new year, and Shaggy barked at every fir tree they encountered. She jumped maniacally around it. 

Grumbling, Severus cut one tree down and dragged it to his house. He didn’t have any decorations but it seemed that Shaggy didn’t mind, she would curl up under the branches and sigh happily. Her eyes were mellow. 

“I guess we are celebrating the New Year this year.” Severus sighed.

He even left her a bag of her favourite treats under the tree on the New Year’s eve. Shaggy dragged a rabbit in for him, and not a live one at that.

They had a rabbit stew for lunch on January the 1st. 

After that, Severus would wake up with Shaggy under his covers, her head on the pillow next to his. Her wet nose stuck to his collarbone. 

Slowly he realised that he couldn’t sleep without her warmth next to him. 

It was his birthday, not a day Severus liked or celebrated, but Shaggy was all fussy and mindlessly happy on that day. She made him laugh with her shenanigans so much so that Severus had to admit at the end of a day.

“Sometimes birthdays aren’t half a bad day.”

Spring came, and it brought Potter with it.

Shaggy whined and ran to his bedroom upon hearing a knock at the door. Severus sighed. 

“My home is Unplottable of a reason, Potter.” He growled at the young man on his doorstep.

“I know, Sir, but if I could pick your brain… You might have an idea where to look next.” Potter frowned.

“I suggest  _ Lost and Found _ , Potter.” Severus grumbled but let him in his home.

“I wish it was that easy. I’m still looking for Hermione, you see.” Potter sounded worried and tired.

“Did it occur to you, Potter, that perhaps she does not want to be found?” Severus raised an eyebrow.

“I know she doesn’t want to be found, Sir. But she’s… She’s family, Sir. I just need to know that she is well… I don’t know what to do. I used every resource at my disposal. She can’t be found. Not in the Muggle or Wizarding world.” Potter shook his head. “I’m getting married, you see. And I’d love to have her at my wedding.” 

“And how is that relevant to your visit to me?” Severus crossed his arms over his chest.

“I tried every spell, every tracking trick. Muggle detectives… Nothing has worked. It’s as if she vanished into thin air! I thought that maybe…” Potter swallowed hard.

“There is no potion that could succeed where tracking spells failed. But I can ask around and let you know if my search yields any results.” Severus grumbled, something in his chest tumbled, cold as ice. 

Potter gazed at him with a calf-like eyes (and just as intelligent) and jumped, nodding his hand as if he wanted to separate it from his body. 

“Thank you, Sir. Even if you do not find her- I’m in your debt.”

Soon after that, Potter was gone.

Severus climbed to his bedroom.

“Shaggy. Get out under that bed this instant.” He said, but his words were devoid of any anger.

Shaggy peaked out from under the bed.

“He’s gone, you may come out, you coward.” He growled at the dog.

Shaggy whined, dragged herself from under the bed and, in two swift movements, under the covers.

_ Those were clean sheets. _ Severus thought with a slight scowl.

“Shaggy…” He started, that icy sensation still tumbling around his chest. When he spoke he used his old Professor’s voice. “Miss Granger, I think it is time to stop playing these games, don’t you?” 

The covers shuddered, there was a faint shimmer of magic and one curly head popped under the covers. On the bed, under the covers was a very naked and very much human Hermione Granger. 

His brain short circuited, rushing his blood in the wrong direction.

“How--how long have you known?” She gave him a sheepish smile.

His heart skipped the beat, then two. 

“For a while. I figured you had your reasons, and Shaggy wasn’t bad company.” He replied.

“Can I stay?” Warm brown eyes blinked at him. 

“Here? Naked?” Severus barked before his brain caught up with what he said.

“Ummm, yes--here. No--not naked, as--as a dog…” Miss Granger moved and he twirled on his heel.

“We’ll see. I’ll make us a tea while you dress yourself. I trust you know where to find clothes.” He said.

Severus barely survived his trek to the kitchen, his legs failing to properly function. His heart remained frozen.

_ Will she leave me, now that I’ve admitted to discovering her secret? _

The tea was nearly ready when Miss Grainger came down to the kitchen. She had his jogging sweatshirt and shorts on.

“So? Do you mind me staying here? As your dog--as Shaggy?” She asked without preamble. 

“I adopted that dog... “ Severus hissed at her. “I don’t mind the dog. But I don’t mind the human company. The question is- why are you  _ my dog _ , Miss Granger?”

“Because being human is complicated and lonely and tiresome.” She shrugged. 

“I thought that you’d be an otter.” He tilted his head.

“So did I. I guess my patronus changed.” She blushed, hugging her mug. 

“If memory serves, the Weasley boy had a dog patronus.” He raised an eyebrow.

“True, but not… My patronus didn’t change for him. It...it doesn’t matter, all that matters is… Can I stay as your dog?” She refused to glance at him.

“I can be amenable to keeping Shaggy. I do stand by my words, Miss Granger. I am not opposed to human company as well.” He agreed, cursing himself. 

She blinked at him. Once. Twice. Before her lips lifted into a smile. 

His heart skipped the beat yet again.

“So, what are we going to do now?” She furrowed her brows.

“Now, you are going to contact your friend. Let him know that you are alive and well. And then we’ll make arrangements on how to proceed.” 

Life was peaceful and fulfilled.

Each morning Severus and his shaggy, brown dog went for a run. 

Each afternoon Severus and Hermione went for long walks along the moors.

Each evening they sat, huddled one against the other, reading while his hand was intertwined within her curls.

Each night she slept next to him, her warmth seeping into him like a balm.

Severus had to admit.

_ It is a good thing to be adopted by a dog. _


End file.
